Nielsen: U.S. troops have no ‘intention’ of shooting at caravan migrants

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said on Thursday night that the military does not intend to shoot at Central American migrants if they cross into the U.S., as reports indicate that the federal government plans to send additional troops to the southern border while a large caravan of migrants continues to makes its way through Mexico.

“We do not have any intention right now to shoot at people, but they will be apprehended, however,” Nielsen told Fox News host Martha MacCallum along the border in Arizona. “But I also take my officer and agent, their own person safety, extraordinarily seriously. They do have the ability of force to defend themselves.”

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When asked whether troops would fire back if someone in the caravan shot at them, Nielsen demurred and said the government would “have to work through that” and that she would not tolerate any violence against U.S. border enforcement officers.

President Donald Trump has slammed reports of a caravan of migrants traveling from Honduras to the U.S., with some intending to claim asylum on account of the violence in their home countries. The president has gone even further, with unsubstantiated claims that the caravan is the brainchild of Democrats.

POLITICO reported Thursday that the Pentagon was awaiting the request to deploy additional people, as reports say 800 more troops were to be sent to the border. It is unclear whether those deployments would come from active-duty personnel or whether they would be part of the 2,100 National Guard troops sent to the border in April. The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act would govern exactly what those troops could do, since it prohibits the use of the military in civilian law enforcement.

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Nielsen previously faced criticism for her role in the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which led to the separation of some migrant families. Those actions triggered intense, bipartisan blowback and a number of large protests across the country. The DHS chief declined the opportunity to put the blame on parents seeking to enter the U.S. with their children, but said the current immigration system was “broken” and that the journey from Central America to the U.S. was fraught with violence.

“I think that as the secretary of Homeland Security I will continue to enforce the laws of this country,” she said. “I expect that the people who work at the Department of Homeland Security to do the same. That’s the oath that we took.”